Method and means for pumping deep wells



March 23\ 19226.-

C. E. FARRS METHOD AND MEANS FOR PUMPIN G DEEP WELLS Filed Nov. 6,

IV c

Patented Mar. 23, 1926.

,577,616 PATENT OFFICE.

CARL B. FARRIS, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

' METHOD AN'D MEANS FOR PUMPING DEEP WELLS.

Application led November 16,1923. Serial No. 673,157.

To all lwhom t may concern:

-Be it known that I, CARL B. FARRIs, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, haveinvented new Vand useful Improvements in Methods andMeans for Pumping Deep Wells, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to and has for its main object an improved systemfor pumping deep oiland Water Wells, whereby the excessive pressureswhich usually obtain at great depths in the Well may be relieved atdifferent stages of operation, so that a more uniform supply of theliquid from the Well may be had anda more elcient operation of the pump.A

lt has been found in the operation of oil and water wells, especiallyoil `wells which usually embody a single plunger, that the pressurecreated by the high columnof liquid above the plunger is so great as toimpair the operation of the pump at times, -and this condition alsorequires the frequent changing of the cups on the plungers andadjustment and replacement of other parts.

It is an'object, therefore, of this invention to provide a multipleplungervpump arranged witli the plunger spaced apart at desirableelevations, approximately five hundred feet more or less, together withmeans Ysurrounding each of the plungers and extending throughoutthelimits of operation thereof for receiving and holding volumes of theliquid so as to relieve thepressure in the Well, and thereby reducetlleweiglit on the plunger and correspondingly reduce .the amountofeffort required to operate the pump, This system also Velimniates thenecessity for frequently adjusting and replacing parts Vof the plunger.A more detailedV bject of this invention ,is to provide in a deep wellpump a tube or working barrel in 'which is mounted a Y plurality ofplungers connected together by means ofsections of rods, commonly called-of the plan-gers. ciprocatetogether and to acorresponding 'extentwithin the barrel of the pum sucker rods, so that the plunger may re-S'aid plungers are placed at suita le distances apart in the well and itis a further object of this invention to provide at the approximatelevels of lthe plungers a reservoir or casin of cylindrical form, ofgreater diameter t an the working barrel or tube,

and attached thereto, the height and capaciby step progressive movementfrom one of the reservoirs to the other, so as to reduce the weight otthe liquid on each oi' the plungers and the resultant pressure withinthe barrel.

Another object is to provide-means in the reservoirs whereby thepressure of the liquid may be relieved by overflowing the liquid fromthe tops of the reservoirs andalso for providing means of communicationbetween the working barrel of the pump and the reservoirs at a pointnear the lower ends'of the reservoirs and below the lowermost limits ofthe ope-ration of the plunger, whereby the pressure is relieved and theove'flow liquid is dischargedback into the we l. Y

Still other objects may `appear as the description progresses. i

I have shown one preferred embodiment of my invention in theaccompanying draw-4 ings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a well, showing myimproved mechanism embodied. therein.

Fig. 2 is a similar sectional elevation on a larger scale, showing oneof the reservoirs and one of the plungers in operative relation, andconnected with the working barrel of the pump.

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan-cn the of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4

line. 3--3 is a sectional plan on line 4 4 of Fig. 5' 1s an enlargedside elevationof one Y In said drawings, W represents the-well which mayor may not be provided .wlth aV casing, the casing. being, omitted 1nthe,

by suitable couplings, not material to this,

.viewsof the drawing. B, B, etc., are apluinvention. R, R, etc., aresections of rods which are adapted to be connected with opposite ends ofthe plungers P, P, etc., and constitute the sucker rod whereby all ofsaid jplungers may be simultaneously operated to a corresponding extentwithin the barrel B of the pump.

The plungers P are ofusual form and character and have the lower ends ofeach of the rod sections R, R, etc., connected to a valve body V whichhas ribs l, 1, etc., formed on the periphery thereof, and oponings 2, 2,etc., provided between said openings. A ball valve V is seated in thespace between the ribs 1,1, etc., of each ot' thel valves and is adaptedto close the valve seat on the 11p-stroke of the plunger, and to openthe same on the downstroke thereof. The body P of each of the plungershas cups 3, 3, etc., of leather orother material which serves to sealthe plunger within the barrel B lAll of the above described mechanism istypical of oil and water well pumps, except that it is not usual toextend the sucker rods R below the plunger P for the reason that only asingle plunger is employed in the obtaining pumping systems. However, itis necessary in my device to provide a iitting F similar in form andcharacter to the valve body V, for attachment to the lower end of theplungers P in each case, so that the lower section of rod R may beattached to the plunger in a manner similar to the upper section of rod.

At the approximate levels of the several plungers in the well I providea substantially elongated casing C of substantially greater diameterthan the barrel B, and providing an annular space S around said barrelfor the rece tion of the liquid in the well. The casingA in 'each caseis mounted on and attached -to the sections B, B, etc., of the barrel bymeans of a suitable reducing union U having a reduced nipple 5 adaptedto overlie the joint between the barrel members B, B and an enlargednipple 6 adapted to overlie the ends of casing C all of said membersbeing threaded together.

The member U at the bottom of casing C, and the member U at the topthereof are substantially the same and are mounted inthe same manner,but `the member U is provided with a plurality of openings 7 7, etc., onthe top whereby the space S of the reservoir formed by the casing C isin communication with the well W at the top of said casing At a pointnear the lower end of the casing C and below the lowermost limit ofoperation of the plunger P in each case, l provide a plurality ofperipheral openings 8, 8, etc., in the barrel section B which affordcommunication between the interior of the barrel andthe space S of thereservoir.

. Now." inr operation the sucker rod composed of the sections R, R isactuated in the usual manner, and to the usual extent for valve seat,and the liquid at the bottom of` the plunger is forced upwardlytherethrough' and through the openings 2 in the valve body B into thatportion of the barrel above the plunger. On the succeeding up stroke ofthe plunger the pressure in the upper ortion oi the barrel serves toseat the ball W in the valve body V and to lift the column of liquidabove the plunger to a height corresponding to the length of travel ofthe plunger. rl`his action is the samex as state-d 1n oil and waterwells, but where only a single plunger is used a column of oil must becarried within thebarrel B of a. height corresponding substantially tothe depth of the well, an in the case of moderately or extremely deepwells the weight of this column of liquid is sol great that itfrequent-- ly impairs the operation of the pump and requires undueattention to the working parts.

In my system,however, by the employment of a plurality of the plungers Pspaced apart at suitable distances, the height of the column of liquidsustained by each of the' plungers is limited by the spacing of theplungers, and as the plungers move upwardly the liquid or a portionthereof is discharged through the openings 8, in the wall of the barrelsB into the annular space S of the reservoir C at each successive stagein the operation of the pump, and in the case of deep wells where thepressure is substantially increased the surplus liquid will overflowthrough the openings 7, 7, in the tops of'the reservoir C and the samewill be discharged back and downwardly into the well, thus relieving thepressure in the several stages where the-reservoirs C are provided.

At the same time, on the succeeding stroke of the plunger the liquidfrom the space S of the reservoir will flow back into the barrel B andthe same will be elevated through the plunger and into the portion ofthe barrel thereabove the succeeding strokes of the sucker rod R and theplunger P. Thus, at each stroke of the plunger the pressure is relievedto an extent necessary for effecting the-eiiicient operation of the pumpand for preventing undue pressures within the barrel B which tend toimpair the operation thereof.

It will also be observed by referenceto the drawings -that the casing C,while of greater diameter than the barrels B are of substantially lessdiameter than the well 'W, and the barrel B and casing C are connectedtogether in such a manner that the casings and the tubing sectionsR may.be`

withdrawn from the well in units, for the purpose of cleaning, repairsor replacements of parts. v v

'l conceive it to be possible to modify or change the form andarrangement ofthe several parts contributing to my invention withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof, and within the scope of the appendedclaims,

What I claim is.:

l. In a deep well pump a working barrel, and a plurality of spacedreservoirs attached to the exterior of said barrel, vand means foraffording communication between said refservoir and the interior of theworking barrel near the bottom of the reservoir, and for affordingcommunication between the upper vends of said reservoirs and the well.

2. Ina dee well pump a working barrel, a plurality o spaced reservoirsattached to the exterior of said barrel, means for affordingcommunication between said reservoir and the interior of the workingbarrel near the bottom of the reservoir, and for a'i'ordingcommunication between the upper ends- 5 of sald reservoirs .and thewell, and a sucker vrod within said barrel provided with a plurality ofplungers, said plungers'being ar- 4 ranged respectively for operationwith relation to said reservoirs. p

3. In a-deep well pump aworking barrel composedof a plurality'` ofsections, a plurality of casingssurrounding said barrel and providing aplurality of reservoirs, means` for attaching the ends of said casingstoadjoining barrel sections,` the lower ends of said reservoirs being.closed against communcationywith the well, and the upper ends thereofhaving communication with the well, and the lower ends ofsaid reservoirsbein .in communication with the interior of sald barrel, for the purposedescribed.

4. In a deep well pump a working barrel to adjoining barrel sections,the lower ends of said reservoirs being closed against communicationwith the well, and the upper ends thereof having communication` with thewell, and the lower ends of said reservoirs being in `communication withthe interior of said barrel, a sucker rod operatively mounted withinsaid barrel and plungers attached to said rod and operating within saidbarrel above the points of communication respectivelybetween saidreservoirs and said barrel. l 5. The method of pumping oil and waterwells which consists in lifting the liquid in the well successively touniformly spaced points, discharging portions of the liquid thus raisedinto reservoirs for relieving the ressure and for overflowing portionsof the iquid from said reservoirs into the well.

6. The method of pumping oil and water wells which consists yin liftingthe liquid in the well successively to uniformly spaced points,discharging portions of the liquid thus raised into reservoirs forrelieving the pressure and for overflowing portions of the liquid fromsaid reservoirs into the well,

and thereafter admitting' the liquid from elevation to successivepoints.

. CARL B. FARRIS.

vsaid, reservoirs to the pump for subsequent

